A glistening chunk of pork!

November 17, 2009 7:24 PM

A glistening chunk of pork!

In the collection of the National Palace Museum in Taipei, Taiwan, two of the most famous works on display are the "Meat-shaped Stone" and "Jadeite Cabbage". Made during the Ch'ing Dynasty (1644–1911) these two sculptures are often exhibited together for the appreciation of visitors. At first glance, this meat-shaped piece of stone looks like a luscious, mouth-watering piece of "Tung-p'o meat". Made from banded jasper, it is a naturally occurring stone that accumulates in layers over many years. Via

posted by mrducts (30 comments total)

"Food porn" doesn't seem quite appropriate. "Food erotica", perhaps.
posted by Joe Beese at 7:31 PM on November 17, 2009

I said god damn.
posted by Bageena at 7:34 PM on November 17, 2009

Damn! I didn't even think of food porn as a tag!
posted by mrducts at 7:36 PM on November 17, 2009

A Mile Long Lump of Lard
posted by Burhanistan at 7:39 PM on November 17, 2009

Some one had way too much time on their hands.

Great post. Thanks.
posted by Jumpin Jack Flash at 7:43 PM on November 17, 2009

I'm not a fan of tough meat.
posted by double block and bleed at 7:46 PM on November 17, 2009 [2 favorites]

Why is this wasting away in a museum when we could be mining it for precious flavor crystals?
posted by MidAtlantic at 7:47 PM on November 17, 2009 [2 favorites]

Actually, it reminds me more of the cross-section view here.
posted by Horace Rumpole at 7:50 PM on November 17, 2009

Made during the Ch'ing Dynasty (1644–1911)

I'd be willing to bet that stone was made a lot longer ago than that.
posted by Balisong at 8:14 PM on November 17, 2009 [2 favorites]

*pouts*

How come we only have carvings of normal stuff like mountains an' poets an' dragons an' fu dogs?

*kicks dirt*
posted by louche mustachio at 8:25 PM on November 17, 2009

Note to anyone writing English didactics for these pieces:

"Auspicious" rhymes very nicely with "delicious."
posted by louche mustachio at 8:27 PM on November 17, 2009

CAN YOU SMELL WHAT THE ROCK IS COOKING?
posted by Fiasco da Gama at 8:44 PM on November 17, 2009 [3 favorites]

Wow, that rocks.
posted by poq at 8:53 PM on November 17, 2009

It menaces with spikes of barbeque.
posted by fleacircus at 9:06 PM on November 17, 2009 [1 favorite]

Pork!
posted by Greg_Ace at 9:08 PM on November 17, 2009 [1 favorite]

Thanks for the via, mrducts! Our pork and fat-loving contributor Chichi sent me that link. Methinks I should get her this meat stone replica for Christmas.
posted by roboppy at 9:24 PM on November 17, 2009

Has anyone tried rubbing it against paper? The 'skin' on top looks like it should be wet with grease.

It reminds me of the thin, round black stone my sister used to torment me with. She'd put it in the box of Thin Mints which was kept, according to holy writ, in the freezer. I usually realized it was a trick before I broke any teeth.
posted by Ghidorah at 9:46 PM on November 17, 2009

Whoa, whoa, whoa. There's still plenty of meat on that bone. Now you take this home, throw it in a pot, add some broth, a potato. Baby, you've got a stew going.
posted by porn in the woods at 10:16 PM on November 17, 2009 [2 favorites]

I'm not a fan of tough meat.

You sir (or madam) have clearly never had Tung Po Pork (also known as Dong-Po). You take your piece of pork belly, sear it in a hot pan and then gently simmer it for a couple of hours with soy sauce, scallions, ginger, chilli, garlic and rice wine. When it's done, you carefully take the pork out of the broth, let it cool slightly so you can cut it without it falling apart, take the fat off the broth and serve it as a sauce, along with steamed rice and plenty of pickles and rice wine to cut the fat.

Done properly, sir/madam, you could eat it with a spoon. A SPOON!
posted by ninazer0 at 2:32 AM on November 18, 2009 [3 favorites]

Also, nice post mrducts!
posted by ninazer0 at 2:33 AM on November 18, 2009

That thing's been bugging me for ages (any answers?). When I saw it, it was not in the gold holder. The bok choy is much more impressive than it looks in those pictures.
posted by hawthorne at 2:37 AM on November 18, 2009

Just wait until I perfect my Laser Fork.
posted by BitterOldPunk at 2:41 AM on November 18, 2009

CAN YOU SMELL WHAT THE ROCK IS COOKING?

Yeah. Damn neighbors always cookin' rock.
posted by IvoShandor at 4:09 AM on November 18, 2009

As a former rock collector: Ooo, rock porn!
posted by limeonaire at 5:25 AM on November 18, 2009

I have eaten that pork Sir, and I did not enjoy it.
posted by blue_beetle at 5:26 AM on November 18, 2009

Been there; seen them. It's... a tad surreal. The gift shop is full of artificial cabbage--... cabbagery. But the meat was far more impressive.
posted by Durn Bronzefist at 7:00 AM on November 18, 2009

Looks more like plum pudding than pork.
posted by spamguy at 9:08 AM on November 18, 2009

ninazer0: "I'm not a fan of tough meat.

You sir (or madam) have clearly never had Tung Po Pork (also known as Dong-Po). You take your piece of pork belly, sear it in a hot pan and then gently simmer it for a couple of hours with soy sauce, scallions, ginger, chilli, garlic and rice wine. When it's done, you carefully take the pork out of the broth, let it cool slightly so you can cut it without it falling apart, take the fat off the broth and serve it as a sauce, along with steamed rice and plenty of pickles and rice wine to cut the fat.

Done properly, sir/madam, you could eat it with a spoon. A SPOON!"

That sounds truly wonderful. Now I'm really hungry, but all I've got is a rock.

To help you with the gender confusion, I'm Y chromosome positive.
posted by double block and bleed at 9:36 AM on November 18, 2009 [1 favorite]

Best stone soup ever!
posted by artifarce at 10:57 AM on November 18, 2009

That thing's been bugging me for ages (any answers?). When I saw it, it was not in the gold holder. The bok choy is much more impressive than it looks in those pictures.

In the museum's text it says that the piece of pork is carved and the skin is stained, so it's not just a pieve of jade that happened to look exactly like pork. It's a piece of jade that happened to look a lot like pork that someone made look exactly like pork.
posted by cmoj at 11:12 AM on November 18, 2009 [2 favorites]